Mystery Photo
What in the world is it?
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| Don’t peek at the answer until you’ve given this a good try! Then, scroll down a bit and the truth will be revealed to you.
Digital art? Fractal geometry? No. It’s a space shot of the Antarctic Peninsula, whose ice shelves are cracking up. This particular satellite image, taken on December 19th, 2001, shows an alarming amount of material breaking free from the continent’s Ross Ice Shelf. It also represents one moment in time of what scientists are now considering to be the most serious thaw since the end of the last ice age 12,000 years ago. The breakup of the ice shelf in itself is a natural process of renewal. That’s not what’s so surprising. What is surprising is the size and rate of production of icebergs – some the size of major cities. Scientists are pointing a finger at global warming as the culprit. Back |